How worthwhile is a shape sorter?

[TxCat]

So, I maybe should have gotten this a while ago, but we don't have any sort of shape sorter for DD, who is 13 months. She can sort of play with shapes on her FP L&L House, but that's it so far. I was thinking about getting her blocks (which she doesn't have) and Duplos as a couple of her Christmas presents, but I'm wondering if I should get her a shape sorter instead. I've never been able to pull the trigger on the FP one because people mention that the lid comes off easily/quality is a little lacking, but maybe it's better than nothing?

[HonoluluMom]

How about the Tupperware shape sorter:

http://www.amazon.com/Tupperware-Shape-O-Ball-Toy/dp/B000CFZP3A

Or, maybe a puzzle:

http://www.amazon.com/Tupperware-Shape-O-Ball-Toy/dp/B000CFZP3A

I got DD the Tupperware shape sorter because I remember having it when I was little.

[lovebebes]

to us it has been completely worthless...she wont even touch it. i got a very cute colorful wooden one, i think its great but dd could care less.

[arivecchi]

Boring toys. Skip.

[Bootsie]

I think shape sorters are completely useless. My kids won't play with them unless they do something else (something more interesting) as well - and even then, they play with the non-shape sorter aspect of the item.

[larig]

How about the Tupperware shape sorter:

http://www.amazon.com/Tupperware-Shape-O-Ball-Toy/dp/B000CFZP3A

Or, maybe a puzzle:

http://www.amazon.com/Tupperware-Shape-O-Ball-Toy/dp/B000CFZP3A

I got DD the Tupperware shape sorter because I remember having it when I was little.

The tupperware one is GREAT! It's the only one I found that actually keeps the pieces inside! And the shapes have numbers on them. DS loved it. I sadly passed it along just yesterday.

ETA: DS got his for his first birthday. I think the tupperware one (with 10 shapes) is complicated enough to keep an older child entertained. It has many surfaces and some interesting shapes--ovals, circles, a sector of a circle (pie shape), ...as a former geometry teacher I loved having the many figures to talk about. I know it's how DS learned the names of the shapes.

[BabyBearsMom]

DD likes hers (she has the M&D wooden one) and still plays with it. But at 13 months, I don't think it is worth it. I think it is a must by for a 4 to 9 month old though.

[WatchingThemGrow]

We have the playskool one http://www.amazon.com/Playskool-Busy-Basics-Fitter-Colors/dp/B00000IW2S
the tupperware one
and the FP one. DS2 was found putting blocks in the Playskool one yesterday. I don't think any of my kids did them until age 2, unless an adult was putting the pieces in for them!

ETA: I bought the tupperware one for $.50 at a school yard sale, then we were gifted the others by relatives. Time to offload some!

[vonfirmath]

My son got his shape sorter (the Playskool one first) at 16 months and LOVED it. I went on to get him two more shape sorters (The Tupperware one and one that I never found out the brand) He's a huge puzzle fan to this day.

[sunnyside]

Wow I'm surprised so many dislike them.

My little girl got this one for her birthday and it took her a couple months to get into it, but now she plays with it every day. When we travel on short trips it is the only toy I bring because she loves it so much.

It has the shape sorter part and also has 8 stacking cups inside.

It is one of the most played with toys she has ever had.

http://www.amazon.com/I-Play-G02082-Nest-Stack-Buckets/dp/B000CBSNBU

ETA: My little is 16 months now. It has been interesting to watch her abilities grow with this toy. At first she was able to get the circle shape in, but had trouble with the others. Then she became proficient with the square too. The triangle and pentagon have been the trickiest. She can do them all now, but it takes her a while sometimes. And after all that thinking, she likes to build a tower with the cups and knock them down. I never can believe how long she can play with stacking cups. Stacking them up, nesting them together, hiding one inside another etc.

[♥ms.pacman♥]

Wow I'm surprised so many dislike them.


:yeahthat:

we never bought one, but DS got one as a gift from a family friend a few months ago (at 19 months). He LOVED it. He had fun learning the shapes too. When playing with it he says things like "That's a red pentagon!"

It's this one...got great reviews (5/5 stars), and I'm not surprised at all..it's better than most plain shape sorters IMO.

http://www.amazon.com/Tolo-Toys-Rolling-Shape-Sorter/dp/B00005UFC1/ref=sr_1_1?s=toys-and-games&ie=UTF8&qid=1322527446&sr=1-1

The individual pieces are rattles and thus make noise when you shake them, and then the sorter itself is a cylinder so it rolls and makes noise when the shapes are inside..i guess this is a big plus for why the kids like them. DD likes playing with the individual pieces too. DD is 8 months and is not really into putting shapes yet, she just likes using the pieces as rattles.

Maybe my kids are slow but neither kid were/are into shape sorters until well over a year old...DS would just get too frustrated if he couldn't get the shapes in by himself. We got the FP learning home when DS was 11 months and he couldn't really put the shapes on that well until he was maybe 15 months or so, so he never really played with that part until then. DS got the above shape sorter at 19months and he was so entertained by it and he actually enjoyed playing with it bc he could actually put the shapes in, and then he could identify/name the shapes. He was way more entertained by this toy than the part on the FP learning home.

[Beth24]

My little guy likes his too...guess it just depends on the child!

[Simon]

Ds2 has loved his shape sorters.

We started with this one and it was beloved (daily use) from about 10 mo to 14 mo (maybe longer). We never gave him the hammer just had him use hands.

http://www.amazon.com/Little-Tikes-DiscoverSounds-Tool-Box/dp/B000067PUP

We also have the Tupperware one linked to in a pp. It also had near daily use for about the first 2 months (we would empty and fill the shapes 3-4 times over usually) and it still comes out a few times each week.

I will say that we played with these cooperatively and that we starte out helping Ds a lot so that it wasn't frustrating but enjoyable to him. We gave less and less help over time.

[crl]

Well, they are good for fine motor skills and so on. We had a bunch for ds, progressively harder as he got older, partly on various occupational therapists' advice. I think of them as somewhat essential. Although I think they are more for 15 months and up. . . . I haven't ever known an under one kid who could do them.

Catherine

[Bootsie]

:yeahthat:

This (and similar posts) make sense. Maybe my kids just aren't old enough for them yet. Maybe they will become popular at an older age.

I had that Tupperware one as a kid and remembered loving it!

[chozen]

we have the fisher price one and it has been played with a bunch. my dd would sit between my legs and put shapes in and she loved dumping them out. she could put all the shapes in by her self at age 1 1/2 easily, she would also put other stuff into the bucket and carry it around, we really like it.

[brittone2]

When I was working in early intervention, I had one that was a cylinder (maybe FP?) and it was very simple. Triangle, circle, square or something like that. Only 3 choices.

Ones like the M&D are far more complex (with things like octagon vs. hexagon). For a young toddler, I think the simplest version is best. Older kids (older toddlers and preschoolers) may prefer one w/ more complexity.

For a 13 month old I'd buy a very simplistic one.

[brittone2]

double post. sorry.

[indigo99]

DS loves ours too. I got an inexpensive one at Tuesday Morning that he can almost open and close himself, and we have the Tupperware one (which we have to do for him because he could smash his fingers in it). I almost forgot to get them out in time, and he mastered it in a few days once I got them out at around 18 months. Now he still plays with it, but he can say the colors and shape names as he does it. When he first started playing with it, it was especially fun for him when we would say a loud "PLOP" each time he dropped one in, and then we cheered.

[A1icia]

:yeahthat:

we never bought one, but DS got one as a gift from a family friend a few months ago (at 19 months). He LOVED it. He had fun learning the shapes too. When playing with it he says things like "That's a red pentagon!"

It's this one...got great reviews (5/5 stars), and I'm not surprised at all..it's better than most plain shape sorters IMO.

http://www.amazon.com/Tolo-Toys-Rolling-Shape-Sorter/dp/B00005UFC1/ref=sr_1_1?s=toys-and-games&ie=UTF8&qid=1322527446&sr=1-1

The individual pieces are rattles and thus make noise when you shake them, and then the sorter itself is a cylinder so it rolls and makes noise when the shapes are inside..i guess this is a big plus for why the kids like them. DD likes playing with the individual pieces too. DD is 8 months and is not really into putting shapes yet, she just likes using the pieces as rattles.

This is a GREAT toy!

DS, now 19m, loves shape sorters and puzzles of any sort - the key I think (as with many toys) is that you have to help them get interested in it. DS' daycare had a very simple one by FP that is a square bucket with only four basic shape one on each side. He started playing with it around 10 m. Four quite some time we had to turn it to the correct side but then he would put the shape in. And he was so pleased with himself! Oh and we clap - he loves applause.

Once he mastered the simple one I did some research and got him the Tolo one above. It took him awhile but has been an expert at it for many months and still enjoys it.

[YouAreTheFocus]

:yeahthat:

This (and similar posts) make sense. Maybe my kids just aren't old enough for them yet. Maybe they will become popular at an older age.

I had that Tupperware one as a kid and remembered loving it!

I agree, as this was our experience. We got the Playskool one that WatchingThemGrow linked to when our son was 14 mos. At that point all he could do was open the top and drop the shapes in, then dump it out. It was pretty boring. But now at newly 2, he loves it--he can do it but it is still somewhat of a challenge for him. I put the Tupperware one on his Xmas list.